Seed-tape manufacturing machine

ABSTRACT

A seed-tape manufacturing machine having special means for handling different widths of tape and different kinds of seed, by virtue of distinctive aligning and troughing apparatus, and means for picking up and dispensing the seed having removable arms and replaceable nozzles.

United States Patent [1 1 Tobin, Jr. et al.

[ Nov. 2%, W73

[ SEED-TAPE MANUFACTURING MACHINE [75] Inventors: Carlton D. Tobin, Jr l-lollister;

Sheldon W. Moline, San Jose; Robert J. Walder, Soquel; Melvin D. Kirkpatrick, Salinas; Troy L. Cochran, Salinas; Robert P. Watwood, Salinas, all of Calif.

[73] Assignee: Union Carbide Corporation, New

York, N.Y.

22 Filed: Jan.12,l972

21 Appl. No.: 217,318

[52] US. Cl. 53/180 [51] Int. Cl 1B65b 9/06 [58] Field of Search 53/177, 178, 180

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,561,187 2/1971 Rohnert et al 53/180 X 3,623,266 11/197] Nakayarna 53/180 X 3,683,583 8/1972 Cochran et al. 53/180 X Primary ExaminerRobert L. Spruill Attorney-Robert W. Wickersham [5 7 ABSTRACT A seed-tape manufacturing machine having special means for handling different widths of tape and different kinds of seed, by virtue of distinctive aligning and troughing apparatus, and means for picking up and dispensing the seed having removable arms and replaceable nozzles.

26 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PAIFNIEUNUYBO 191a BJTZSAS sum 1m 3 Pmminnuvzomn 3,772,849

SHEET 2 OF 3 166 FIG. 6 0: f G

EATENIEURUVZO I975 SHEET 3 [1F 3 9 78 MB KB 5 0 Ad7V 4 1V 0 M ki T FIHJLJIHHU. 6 M 2 4 6 1 B FIG9 FIG. 8

FIG. l2

FIG. ll

FIG. IO

B W F 1 SEED-TAPE MANUFACTURING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a seed-tape manufacturing machine.

Previous seed-tape making machines, such as those shown in U.S.Pat.Nos. 3,511,016 and 3,561,187, have been directed to commercial production of seed tape for use on farms of substantial areas. Standardized and large-scale production has been desired for rapid and accurate manufacture of standard items. For these pruposes, the devices shown in these patents are excellent.

However, there are other uses for seed tapes, and it is to these other uses that the present machine is directed. For example, seed breeders at universities and at the experimental farms of commercial seed companies often need to provide for uniform conditions for growing a relatively small number of seeds in the open ground. Heretofore, such users could obtain seed tapes only by furnishing their seeds to the owner of a commercial machine and asking him to provide the finished seed tape, and this has substantially prevented any such work from being done because of the cost and difficulties involved.

One of the main purposes of the present invention is to provide a seed-tape making machine which is suitable for use by a seed experimenter or breeder, so that he can himself make his own seed tape. This means that each individual seed tape may be relatively short; it may even include a length of one kind of seed followed by a length of a different kind of seed, and so on. The seeds may be different varieties of the same basic plant, or they may be completely different types. The successive kinds of seeds may be substantially the same size but would require stopping the machine for careful replacement of one kind of seed with another in the seed hopper and then restarting the machine, or there may be completely different kinds of seeds requiring changes of some parts of the machine. Some seeds may involve changing the tape from one width to another.

The present commercial machines, admirable as they are for their own purposes, are not readily adaptable to very short runs, frequent stopping, replacement of one kind of seed with another, replacement of the seed pickup and dispensing nozzles, or changing of various parts that change with different widths of tape. Moreover, the commercial machines are necessarily expensive and require considerable capital outlay, and they would require considerably more if they were to be adapted to the use of breeders and experimenters.

There is a need for a simpler, less expensive machine for making relatively small quantities of seed tape, machines that are more readily suitable to operations that involve stopping after only a short run, replacement of seeds, starting up again, and changing the widths of the seed tapes without having to put in a large number of substitute parts.

In arriving at a machine to fill these needs, there were a number of problems involved. For one thing, it is important that the seed-tape machine enable the user to make the changes without hampering the basic function of the machine. For example, changes in the widths of seed tape should be made easily and readily and without affecting the alignment of the tape with the operating parts. However, it is substantially impossible to make changes without affecting alignment, so that there must be means for rapidly adjusting the alignment in a simple manner.

Another problem involves adapting the moistening device for frequent starting and stopping operations without severing the tape.

Another problem is with the mechanism for reeling the finished seed tape. Heretofore, commerical machines have used relatively expensive apparatus that did a special kind of reeling or spooling and that acted to change the peripheral speed of the tape on the reel or spool as the diameter of the finished product grew. Such machines are expensive and greatly affect the cost of the machine; hence something different had to be done in this regard.

Special problems were also involved in picking up and dispensing the seed into the tape. Synchronization of the seed dispensing with the tape feed is a comparatively simple matter, but as stated before, it is necessary that the seed-tape machine under discussion be easily changed from one batch of seed to another, and since seeds vary tremendously in size, it is often necessary to change the pickup heads. For many uses, vacuum pickup nozzles can be used, but those which are best able to pick up small seeds and to do so accurately are not suitable for picking up large seeds, and vice versa. Different sets of nozzles are needed, and the commercial machines were not readily adaptable to changes from one set to another, for it would take a considerable period of time to install and correctly align a new set of nozzles in those machines. The time involved was insignificant in commercial practice, where operation with one set of nozzles would occupy a machine for several days or weeks before changing to another set that would occupy a similar length of time, but when the machine is to run for only a few minutes or perhaps even less than a minute between changes, changeover time becomes very significant. Similarly, it is important to be able to vary the spacing between seeds on the tape in a simple and easily accomplished manner, instead of requiring a complete replacement of the dispensing unit or some complex series of adjustments.

Another problem is that of adjusting the speed of manufacture of the seed tape. Sometimes it is desired to manufacture these experimental tapes relatively slowly and sometimes it is desired to manufacture them more quickly, and speed adjustment has been difficult on the commercial machines, because they were geared to rapid production.

These and other problems have been solved by the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An input reel of strip material feeds the strip from which the seed tape is to be made across a platform, at the other end of which is a take-up reel. A pair of wheels, like those used on the commercial machines, is provided to pull the tape across a seed dispensing station. Thus, one wheel may be driven and the other may be an idler wheel yieldingly urged toward the drive wheel; the strip passes between them and at that point the tape is closed against itself to seal in the seed. The take-up reel is driven at such a speed that the peripheral speed of the seed tape being reeled always tends to be faster than the peripheral speed of the drive wheels, and a slip belt arrangement enables the pull of the tape to reduce the peripheral speed at the take-up reel to that of the drive means, providing slippage rather than stretching the tape. The hubs that support the two reels are made able to receive various widths of reels.

The tape is pulled across a troughing block that is positioned on the platform ahead of the drive wheels. The block has a longitudinal groove with a central vertex, a V-shaped lower portion, and vertical walls above the extremities of the V. Ahead of the troughing block is a novel moistening device, which is readily removable from its tape-moistening position so that when the tape is stopped momentarily it is possible to avoid severing the tape by moisture. A wire tape-shaping member is supported by or near the support for the moistening means with a torque type of suspension enabling it to yield upwardly while normally being urged downwardly; it has a portion extending axially of the groove in the troughing block, vertically above the vertex. Normally this portion is urged down on top of the moistened strip to force the strip into the vertex so that the strip takes a V-shape there, or in other words is troughed. Following this shaping member is the seed dispensing station, and following that a control member is mounted on the troughing block to engage the side edges of the strip and hold them in proper alignment, so that when the strip is closed, the edges that are closed together exactly coincide.

Between the input reel and the moistening means is a flanged aligning roller that aligns the strip approximately to the correct input for the troughing block. This roller is changed when the strip width is changed. Use of this means alone for aligning would not be quite sufficient, however; so the invention includes also a fine adjustment device, which comprises a small rodshaped member supported close to the entry end of the troughing block, between the troughing block and the moistening means, positioned at an acute angle relative to the movement of the strip, and adjustable so that the angle can be changed. A small change in the angular position of this member adjusts tapes to center them accurately in the troughing block.

The seed metering and dispensing apparatus comprises a fixed plate supported horizontally on the platform away from the path of the seed. This fixed plate has a surface that is grooved like those of the commercial machines to provide an arcuate groove that is kept at a vacuum and first and second openings following the arcuate groove and at the same radius and are respectively kept at atmospheric pressure and at an above-atmospheric pressure. The plate also supports a fixed cam having a shaped periphery. Like the commercial machine, having there is also a rotatable disc that has passages hving inlet openings at the same radius as the arcuate groove of the fixed plate and which therefore come into contact with the groove and the first and second openings during rotation, to provide the different pressures needed at the different stations. However, the present invention has the rotatable disc provided with a circular outer periphery adjacent to and spaced vertically from the cam and provided with a horizontal groove or recess between its upper and lower faces, and a series of radial openings extend in from its periphery at evenly spaced intervals.

A series of arms separate from the disc is provided. Each of these has a cross pin that is engageable in the horizontal groove or recess so that the disc provides vertical support for the arm, and a portion of each arm extends into a radial opening, thereby obtaining radial alignment of the arm relative to the disc, so that the arms all extend radially out from the disc. The arms have cam followers adjacent to the cross pins that extend up to engage the cam, and they are held in engagement with the cam and also held to the disc by means of a suitable elastic band. The outboard end of each arm mounts a needle-like nozzle having a seed-pickup portion extending below the arm with an opening at or near its lower end; the nozzle also extends above the arm and has an upper opening which is connected by a removable elastomeric tube to one of the passages of the disc. The removable connection, taken with the elastic band, makes it easy to remove the arms and it also does another thing: each of the arms is provided, in addition to the nozzle, with a member of similar shape and size projecting up near the nozzles upper end; this other member is solid or blind and is used to prevent loss of vacuum when the tube is disconnected from the nozzle and connected to this blocking or dummy member. This enables one to use every other nozzle or every third nozzle or every fourth nozzle for picking up seed, instead of every nozzle having to pick up seed. Thus is the machine provided with a simple way of getting variable spacing.

A seed tray is releasably secured to the platform adjacent to the rotating disc and is located substantially diametrically opposite the seed dispensing station at the troughing block. This seed tray is itself novel. It is generally arcuately shaped and is provided with a V- shaped upper surface that holds the seeds. It has an elevated forward end and an elevated rear end, and the elevation from the lowest points where the seeds are intended to be picked up rises quite sharply and steeply at the exit end and serves thereby to prevent the nozzles which are aligned with the V from pushing seeds out of the tray.

The cam that is attached to the fixed plate acts to cause the seed arms to move down, to dip the nozzles into the seed tray, then to move sharply up at the point where the seed tray itself rises sharply, both to avoid hitting that part of the seed tray and to provide a sharp enough action to shake off seeds which might have stuck together, so that the nozzles will pick up only the desired seeds (whether one or more per nozzle). Then the cam causes the arms to move down as they reach the seed-dispensing station, so that the nozzle can approach the vertex of the groove in the troughing block when it drops the seed. After that, the cam moves the arm up again before blowing out the nozzle.

The seed tray is readily removable for cleaning and is replaceable with another seed tray when changing from one seed to another. It has an opening in its rear wall adjacent the V-shaped surface with a hopper feeding in there, so that seeds can be added while the machine is operating without interfering with the operation of the machine and without losing seeds.

The arms, as stated, are removable and replaceable, and it may be advisable to have the seed nozzles that pick up and dispense the seed permanently affixed to their arms and change the arms of the set, but it is also feasible to use arms which have means for correctly aligning sets of removable and replaceable nozzles, so that the needle-like nozzle members can be interchanged.

The unit is compact, and the arms which support the input and take-up reels may be folded in to make it still more compact for storage or transport. A directcurrent drive motor is used, which is synchronized to the drive means, the take-up means, and the seeddispensing disc, and this motor may have its speed varied by a suitable electronic circuit, such as an SCR speed modulator, well known in the art.

Other details of construction and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES In the drawings:

FIG. l is a view in perspective of a seed-tape manufacturing machine embodying the principles of the invention; the idler drive wheel is partly broken away.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in perspective and partly in section of a portion of the machine of FIG. 1 adjacent the moistening device and the entry end of the troughing block, with the moistening felt elevated above its normal moistening position.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view in section taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 1, showing one form of control member in the troughing block.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 ofa modified form of control member in the troughing block.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of the control member of FIG. 4 mounted on the troughing block.

FIG. 6 is a top-plan view, enlarged with respect to FIG. 1, of the seed-metering and dispensing portion of the machine and adjacent parts.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view in section taken along the line 7- 7 in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a view in section taken along the line 8-8 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged view in elevation of a portion of the rotating disc and stationary cam and oneof the removable arms.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of the nozzle portion of a modified form of seed arm having a replaceable nozzle.

FIG. ll is a view in end elevation of the device of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a view in section taken along the line l21l2 in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a view in perspective of the portion of the machine below the platform, with some parts broken away.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in the drawings, the seed tape manufacturing machine of this invention may comprise a frame or housing member 28 having a platform 21, a sloping front wall 22, and side walls 23 and 24. Hinged near these side walls 23 and 24 are outwardly and upwardly extending arms 25 and 26, each having a hub 27 or 28 at its outer end. On these hubs 27 and 28 are removably mounted an input reel 30 at one end and a take-up reel 31 at the opposite end. Various widths, diameters and types of reels 30 and 311 may be used, and since the finished seed tape 32 is only half the width of the original strip 33 introduced from the input reel 30 into the machine, the take-up reel 31 may, if desired, be smaller than the input reel 30. Since the arms 25 and 26 are each mounted on a pivot block 34a, they can swing in against their respective sidewalls 23 and 24, when the machine is not in use and can be swung out to the proper position when it is in use. The arms 25 and 26 are readily held in each of their two positions by a pivot block 34a and a block 34b, the pivot block 34a being lifted for swinging. The pivot block 34a is rotatably and slidably mounted on a vertical spacing pin or stand-off 34, and a sleeve 34c at the upper end of the stand-off 34 limits the upward sliding movement of the pivot block 34a.

On the arm 25 is removably mounted an alignment roller 35, which is a flanged spool, readily replaceable,

1 rotatably mounted on a removable axle 36 that is held by the arm 25. Like the input hub 27, the roller 35 idles and is rotated by the pull of the strip 33. The distance between the flanges of the roller 35 is governed by the width of the strip 33, there being a different roller 35 for each different width of strip 33. The roller 35 serves to align the strip 33 between the two reels 30 and 31 and its path across the platform 21, this alignment being both vertical and horizontal, to determine the horizontal level of the strip 33 and its direction of movement over the platform 21.

Between the input reel 30 and the take-up reel 31, moving across the machine are, in order, a moistening assembly 40, a fine adjustment aligner 41, a troughing block 42, and drive means comprising a pair of wheels 43 and 44 having soft-surfaced peripheries. The wheel 43 is driven by a direct current motor (see FIG. 13) in the housing 20 through a sprocket belt 183; the speed of the motor 180 can readily be varied by a suitable electronic device such as an SCR circuit 182, through a dial member 45 on the front panel 22. An onoff switch 46 on the front panel 22 turns this motor 180 on or off. A counter 47 operated by a belt 181 counts the footage passing between the wheels 43 and 44, while a wheel 48 enables resetting of the counter 47. The idler wheel 44 is, like that in the commercial machine, mounted on an arm 184, which is spring-urged (by a spring 184a attached to the arm 184 and to the post 113) toward the drive wheel 43, so that the two wheels 43 and 44 engage the strip 33 and close it together as it comes out of the troughing block 42 and, since it has been moistened, thereby seal the strip 33 closed with the seed encapsulated inside, thereby completing the seed tape 32.

The take-up hub 28 is connected to the same direct current motor 180 through a transmission arrangement that includes a pulley mounted on the same shaft 186 as the wheel 43. A standard slip belt I87 engages the pulley 485 and the hub 28 and causes the hub 28 to rotate at such a speed that the peripheral speed of the tape 32 on the take-up reel 31 always tends to be faster than the peripheral speed of the wheels 43 and 44, while excessive tension on the tape 32 causes the slipping of the belt 187 on the pulley I85 and hub 28 and enables the hub 28 to be slowed down to enable the tape 32 to be wound up at substantially the same speed as it moves through the wheels 43 and 44, rather than stretching the tape 32.

The troughing block 42 (see FIG. 3) is an important part of the invention. Its purpose is to help cause the strip 33, from which the seed tape 32 is made, to take and hold a troughed shape, so that it can receive and accept the seeds at a vertex 50 and then will remain troughed ready to have its upper moistened surface closed against itself by the wheels 43 and 44. The troughing block 42 extends for a substantial length and has a terminal portion 51 extending right up almost to where the wheels 43 and 44 meet, so that the shape of the strip 33 and its alignment can be kept accurately right up to the point of closure and sealing of the tape 32. Therefore, its terminal portion 51 is shaped to extend in between the two wheels 43 and 44.

The troughing block 42 has a central vertex 52 at the lowest point of its upper surface and has two converging walls 53 and 54 forming a V-groove in the bottom meeting at the vertex. Above the end of the \/-shaped portion the trough has substantially vertical walls 55 and 56.

The strip 33 is fed to the troughing block 42 via the moistening means 40 and aligner 41, of both of which more will be said in a moment, and it is formed into its V-shape with the aid ofa wire strip-shaping member 60 (see FIGS. 2 and 6), which is mounted so that it extends directly above and is urged down toward the vertex 52 of the troughing block 40. The strip 33 passes beneath the member 60, and the lower end portion 61 of the member 60 engages the moistened upper surface of the strip 33 and forces the center line of the strip 33 down into the vertex 52, thereby somewhat creasing it, since it is moistened to form its own vertex 50, and helping it to conform to the shape of the walls 53, 54, 55 and 56 of the troughing block 42. This wire member 60 is preferably held by a torsion mounting so that the end 61 can yield upwardly against the light spring pressure of the torsion and therefore not damage the strip 33, and so that the end portion 61 is urged with an adequate amount of pressure against the upper surface of the strip 33. Thus, the member 60 has its strip engaging portion 61 at the end ofa longitudinal shank portion 62 in line with the vertex 52 and itself at the end ofa right angle portion 63, which may be mounted in a sleeve 64 that may conveniently be attached to the moistening means 40 as one way of mounting the member 60, though it could be separately mounted. At the inner end 65 of the sleeve 64, the end of the portion 63 is rigidly secured to a column member 66, and that is the only place where the member 60 is rigidly attached, thereby imparting the torsion action through the rotation of the portion 63. The end 61 is preferably upturned to avoid snagging or cutting the strip 33 and to provide a short arcuate engagement portion.

Fine adjustment of the moistened strip 33 relative to the troughing block 42 is obtained with the aid of the fine-alignment means 41, which may comprise an angularly extending rod 67 (see FIG. 2) that is secured to a column 68 and that engages the lower unmoistened surface of the strip 33 just before it enters the troughing block 42. The troughing block 42 itself has its entrance portions curved in an outward flare 57 to avoid sharp corners which might cut or damage the strip 33. The fine-adjustment rod 67 rides at an angle to the path of the strip 33. It has been found that by a slight change of this angle, made by adjusting the rotational position of the column 68, as, for example, with the aid of an Allen wrench, the training of the strip 33 may be adjusted quite finely; once it is properly adjusted, and set by its set screw 69, it is held there during operations or until further adjustment may be needed.

Beyond the seed dispensing station, the troughing block 42 is provided with a control member (FIG. 3) to assure that the two edges 37 and 38 of the troughed strip 33 will be accurately aligned when they are presented to the closing wheels 43 and 44. This control member may comprise a cylindrical rod 70 (FIG. 3) or an elliptical rod 71 (FIG. 4). The rod 70 has a cross pin 72 at one end which engages in a pair of widthwise notches 73 and 74 in the troughing block 42, thereby enabling the rod to be held in place and not carried away by frictional engagement with the strip 33, and it rests on the walls 53 and 54. The cylindrical member 70 is usually used for the V-shaped strips 33 whose edges 37 and 38 are to terminate within walls 53 and 54. For wider strips 33a whose edges 37a and 38a lie above the walls 53 and 54, the elliptical member 71 may be used as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The member 71 may have two cross pins, 75 and 76, one of which may simply rest on the top walls 58 and 59 of the troughing block, while the other one rests in a notch 77, to assure the proper vertical positioning. This member 71 closely fits in the upper portion of the troughing block and lies against the walls 55 and 56, so that the side edges 37a and 38a of the strip 33a are thereby trained. The edges 37a and 38a cannot creep any higher than where the control member 71 engages the walls of the troughing block 42, and the alignment of the strip 33a is therefore quite accurately maintained.

The moistening means 40 has some important features of novelty. It is different from that in the commercial machine where moistening may be intended to operate for several miles of tape and where the machine is not usually stopped until after it has made many miles of tape, usually being changed only when the supply of tape is exhausted. In the present instance it is often desired to make a few feet or a few hundred feet of tape and then to stop, change seed, and start tape manufacture again. All this would mean that the standard moistening device, if left in contact with the strip 33 would sever the tape, which is water soluble, being polyethylene oxide, by adding too much moisture during the period when the machine is standing still.

The present invention provides a water receptacle mounted on the platform 21 and removable therefrom and having a vertical slot 81 extending down to a desired level (see FIG. 2). A capillary action moistener is provided, having an L-shaped frame 84 with a top wall 85 secured to the sleeve 64 (in a preferred but by no means required structure). The sleeve 64 is secured to the column 66, which is slidably mounted in a tubular standard 86 extending up from the platform 21 and having an open slot or portion 87, a shoulder 88 on which the sleeve 64 rests during operation, and a higher shoulder 89 where it can rest out of contact with the strip 33 when the machine is stopped. A stepped felt wick 90 is provided having a lower portion 91 that is a capillary member that comes in contact with the water below the bottom of the slot 81, while the upper portion 92 receives its water by capillary action from the portion 91 and transmits it to the strip 33. Before starting operations, it is usually preferable to moisten the portion 92 directly, by removing the column 66 from the standard 86, but during operation the supply is replenished by the capillary action of the wick 90.

A seed metering and dispensing assembly is another especially important part of the machine. A vertical drive shaft 101 having a sprocket 188 driven by the sprocket belt 183 extends above the platform 21 and supports most of the assembly 100. Reading from the bottom up in FIG. 7, the shaft 101 has secured to it a disc 102 having a lower portion 103 and an upper portion 104. The disc 102 rotates with the shaft 101, being held in place by set screw 189. Above the disc portion 104 is a fixed-position plate 105 which rests on top of the disc 102 and is urged against it by a spring 106 compressed between an upper collar 107 and a thrust washer 108 that bears on a fixed top plate 109 that is clamped against a cam ring 110 by screws 114 that secure 'the top plate 109 to the plate 105. The collar 107 is secured to the shaft 101 by means of a set screw 107a, but the fixed members 105, 109 and 110 do not rotate. The plate 109 has an outboard portion 111 that has a hole 112 through which a column 113 projects to prevent rotation.

The fixed bottom plate 105 (see FIG. 8) has in its lower surface 115 an arcuate groove 116 with a plurality of inlets; in this instance by way of example, three inlets 117, 118, and 119 are shown. The plate 105 has a first through opening 121 spaced circumferentially from the groove 116 at the same radius as the groove 116 and extending through the plate 105 to its bottom surface. Conduits 122, 123, and 124 extend through the plates 109 and 1 for connection respectively with the inlets 117, 118 and 119. Similarly, the openings 120 and 121 are connected to conduits 125 and 126 that extend through and above the plates 109 and 110. Tubes, preferably of flexible plastic, are applied to all except one of these conduits. Thus, there may be three tubes 127, 128, and 129 which are connected through the conduits 122, 123, and 124 to the arcuate groove 116 and lead to a vacuum pump 190 (FIG. 13) to supply a good strong source of vacuum at a regulated amount. The first through opening 120 is connected simply to atmosphere by the conduit 125, and the second through opening 121 is connected by the conduit 126 and a tube 130 to a supply of above-atmospheric pressure, which may come from the same vacuum pump 190 but is supplying pressure at a few pounds over atmospheric for blowing out the nozzles after each has passed beyond the seed dispensing station. Thus, the vacuum is used for pickup of seeds, the atmospheric pressure for release at the seed-dispensing station, and the above-atmospheric pressure for cleaning out the nozzles once each cycle.

The rotatable disc 102 is held snugly against the fixed plate 105; the upper surface 131 of the disc 102, which abuts the surface 115, has a series of equally spaced passages 132 with equally spaced inlet openings 133 which are located at the same radius as the arcuate groove 116 and so communicate with it. Thus, as the disc 102 rotates, each of the openings 133 passes under and in communication with the arcuate groove 1 16 first and then the first opening 120 and finally the second opening 121 in each cycle. So the passages 132 are first subjected to the vacuum then bled to atmospheric pressure, and then subjected to above-atmospheric pressure. The passages 132 turn at a right angle and lead radially to a short smooth nipple 134 to which is secured a suitable flexible plastic conduit 135.

The lower disc portion 103 (which may, if desired, be

made separately from the portion 104, but at any rate functionally is one with the disc portion 104) is provided with a circumferential horizontal groove 136 (see FIG. 9) around its periphery 137 between its upper and lower surfaces 138 and 139 and is also provided with a series of equally spaced slots 140 extending radially inward and preferably spaced midway between two successive nipples 134. A series of arms 141 that are separate from the disc portion 103 are installed on the disc portion 103. Each arm 141 has a cross pin 142, which is engageable in the groove, and has a portion 143 extending into the slot 140. It also has a cam follower 144 which extends up and engages a cam 145 that is the periphery of the cam ring and is stationary. This cam has a shape, the significance of which will appear later. Each cam follower 144 is provided with a recess 146, and an elastomeric band 147 encircles the cam 145, fits in the recesses 146 and urges the cam followers 144 inwardly to hold the arms 141 on the rotatable disc portion 103 and also hold the cam followers 144 snugly against the cam 145, enabling them to yield to outward movement of the cam by its elastomeric action. A garter spring or other type of elastic band may be used instead if desired. When the cam path extends outward to a greater distance, it tips the arms 141 downwardly.

The outboard end of each arm 141 is provided with a needle-like tubular nozzle 150 which extends above, through, and below the arm 141. The portion above the arm 141 is used for attachment of the plastic tube 135 to transmit the vacuum, atmospheric pressure, or above-atmospheric pressure to the nozzle 150. The portion of the nozzle 150 extending below the arm 141 is provided with a suitable shape for properly engaging seeds and a suitable opening 156a, either at its lower end or adjacent to it on the side wall, if desired, or elsewhere, for picking up generally one and only one seed per opening. The nozzle 150 may, however, have more than one opening to pick up a plurality of seeds.

Adjacent the upper portion of the nozzle 150 on the outer end of the arm 141 is provided another upwardly extending member 151 which has the same size and shape as the upper portion of the nozzle 150. However, this member 151 is a dummy, either a blind tube or a solid rod, and the purpose is to enable changes in seed spacing on the tape. For example, since the arms 141 are equally spaced around the disc 103 an even spacing is achieved which depends upon the spacing of the arms 141. However, if a wider spacing is desired, this may be achieved by taking every other plastic tube 135, removing its outer end from the nozzle 150 and attaching it to the dummy member 151, which serves to block off the pressure and thereby prevent leak of vacuum through that tube 135 but thereby assures that only every other nozzle 150 will operate to pick up seeds, so that the spacing apart of seeds on the tape will be twice as far as it was formerly. Still greater spacing can be achieved by using only every third nozzle 150 or every fourth nozzle 150 in the same manner. This system of dummies 151 provides a ready way of varying the spacing without affecting the vacuum or pressure circuits.

When different kinds of seeds are used, different arms 141 may be used and the difference may rely wholly on the nozzle 150. This is often advisable because the nozzles 150 are often critically fixed in their position at the end of the arm, and to tamper with them is to court disaster. However, in many instances it is possible to achieve substantially the same results by changing only the nozzles instead of the entire arm. ln accomplishing this, for example, as shown in FIGS. 10-12, an arm 152 (like the arm 141 in most ways) may be provided with a horizontal slot 153 having a flat wall 154 and may be provided with a vertical slot which extends in somewhat further than the horizontal slot 153 to enable some springiness and may in fact be enlarged, if that is desired, to increase the spring action of the material. Then nozzles 156 may be provided with a D-shaped plate 157 welded to them to give the desired alignment upon insertion, and the alignment is obtained by making sure that the flat surface 158 of the D plate 157 fits snugly against the fiat surface 154 of the slot 153. Two dimples 157a on the upper surface of the plate 157 are marked with color to enable a color coding identification referring to the diameter of the seed pickup hole 156a of the nozzle 156.

If desired, the vacuum may be used indirectly to pick up seeds, rather than directly, the same vacuum, bleed, and pressure circuits being used to actuate a mechanical seed pickup device.

A seed tray 160 is mounted removably on the platform 21. By making the mounting readily removable it is possible to take off the seed tray 160 for cleaning between different batches of seeds or to substitute different trays 160. This is often very important, because one kind of seed may be treated, such as with chemicals, whereas such treatment may not be desired with another seed, or may have some foreign material which it is difficult to separate from the first kind of seed but which can certainly be kept away from the second kind of seed. Also, of course, this enables readily pouring back from the tray 160 any seeds not used into a container and quickly changing to another kind of seed.

The seed tray 160 has a rear or radially outer wall 160a and has a generally V-shaped upper surface providing a bottom vertex 161 extending arcuately therearound, with inclined radially inner and radially outer walls 162 and 163. However the V and the vertex 161 in this instance are not located at the same height throughout. The forward end 164 of the seed tray is higher to prevent seeds from overflowing at that end and the rear end 165 is raised even higher and much more sharply so as to prevent the nozzles from entraining and pushing seeds along. Those few seeds that are pushed out of the tray 160 may be caught in a chute 166 located beyond the end 165 of the seed tray 160 and secured to it, and flow into a receptacle 166a. The vertex 161 may rise quite steeply at a sharp angle at about 167 almost a step at that point.

To make it possible to supply seeds to the seed tray 160 while the machine is operating and without having to simply pour seeds into the tray 160 in a way which disrupts the bed of seed, an opening 168 is provided in the outer or rear wall 160a, and a hopper 169 is secured thereto. The seeds are simply poured into the hopper 169 and flow through the opening 168 onto the main seed bed.

The effect of the cam 145 is now possible to explain. The cam 145 is made so that it causes the arms 141, successively, as they reach a position over the second tray 160 to dip down into the seed tray 160 gradually, following the contour of the seed tray 160 down and then to rise sharply at a step 170 near where the seed tray vertex 160 rises sharply at 167 and to do so abruptly, so that superfluous seeds which simply adhere to the nozzle 150 without vacuum are shaken off. Of course, the action is not so severe that it jars loose a seed that is held against the actual nozzle opening, but this serves to prevent getting second seeds in and insures singulation. After this rise, the seed is carried along on the level until it reaches the troughing block 42 and then once again a cam portion 171 causes the outer end of the arm 141 to swing down into the troughing block 42. As a result, the seed drop actuated by the breaking of the vacuum occurs from a height beneath the upper surface of the troughing block 42, so that the seed is less likely to bounce and is much more likely to remain fixed when it hits the somewhat moistened surface of the strip 33. The cam then causes the nozzle to rise out of the troughing block 42 and pass over its top surface 58.

The pressure operation is synchronized also and, as will be seen, the vacuum begins when the nozzle 150 enters the seed tray or shortly thereafter and continues until the nozzle 150 has entered the troughing block 42. Immediately thereafter, the vacuum is released to atmospheric pressure by engagement of the inlet 133 with the first opening 120, and the seed drops into the troughed tape 33. Immediately after the nozzle 150 has passed beyond the block 42 to a place where the current of air will not interfere and before it reaches the seed tray 160 again, the nozzle 150 is blown out by the above-atmsopheric pressure from the second opening 121 to avoid any accidental clogging of the nozzle.

SUMMARY OF OPERATION The strip 33 leaves the input reel 30 and is passed over the guiding roller 35, whence it goes to the moistening device 40 and has moisture applied across its upper surface. Its lower surface then engages the fine adjustment training member 41 and enters the troughing block 42, where it is soon engaged by the wire member 60 that holds it down into the vertex 52 of the block 42. As the strip 33 moves along the troughing block 42, a seed is dropped into it from a nozzle 150 of the seed metering and dispensing apparatus 100. Meanwhile, the nozzle 150 has dipped down into the seed tray 160, picked up a seed with the aid of the vacuum, risen from the seed tray 160, moved around holding it with the vacuum, and then dipped down into the troughing block 42 just ahead of the seed dispensing station and dropped it at the seed dispensing station by the release to atmospheric of the vacuum inside the nozzle 150. The nozzle 150 then rises from the block 42 and is blown out before it goes back to the seed tray 160. The strip with the seed on it passes beneath the control member 70, which assures that both its edges 37 and 38 rise the same amount in the troughing block 42 and then goes directly between the two drive wheels 43 and 44, where the strip 33 is closed against itself to make the seed tape 32, encapsulating the seed, and then is carried on to the take-up reel 31 where the speed, though normally faster than the speed at which the tape is driven by the wheels 43 and 44, is kept at the same peripheral speed as the wheels 43 and 44 by the use of the slip belt 185.

To those skilled in the art to which this invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The disclosures and the description herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

We claim:

1. A seed-tape manufacturing machine, including in combination:

a main frame having means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, and a platform in between,

drive and closure means on said platform for propelling the strip and for closing it together with a seed inside to complete the seed tape,

a troughing block on said platform ahead of said drive and closure means and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex,

moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block for moistening the upper surface of said strip,

a round wire shaping member supported in line with said groove above said platform and over the vertex of said block near the end closer to said moistening means and contacting said moistened upper surface for forcing the moistened strip into said V- shaped lower portion, and

a seed-depositing station between said shaping member and said drive and closure means.

2. The machine of claim 1 having a strip control member mounted on said block beyond said seeddepositing station, for engaging the edges only of said strip and centering the strip relative to said vertex, the

unmoistened lower surface of said strip lying against said block in said groove as said strip passes said strip central member.

3. A seed-tape manufacturing machine, including in combination:

a main frame having means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, and a platform in between,

drive and closure means on said platform for propelling the strip and for closing it together with a seed inside to complete the seed tape,

a troughing block on said platform ahead of said drive and closure means and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex,

moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block for moistening the upper surface of said strip,

a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block near the end closer to said moistening means for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped. lower portion, and v a seed-depositing station between said shaping member and said drive and closure means, said moistening means comprising a water receptacle resting on said platform,

a tubular standard extending up from said platform,

a column slidable and rotatable in said standard and removable therefrom,

a frame secured to said column and extending horizontally therefrom, and

a capillary wick held by said frame and having a portion overlying the water in said receptacle to take water therefrom and a portion which rests on and dispenses moisture to the upper surface of said strip.

4. The machine of claim 3 wherein said wire shaping member has a longitudinally extending portion in line with said vertex, with an outboard end portion for contact with said tape and at the other end leading at a right angle to a horizontal portion whose end is secured to said column, and a sleeve secured to said column and to said frame in which said horizontal portion can rotate to give a torsion-spring-like yielding action.

5. The machine of claim 2 wherein said strip control member comprises a rod having a cross-pin at one end lid and a notch in the upper portion of said troughing block for anchoring said rod against axial movement and for locating it longitudinally, said rod having a diameter which just bridges it across a portion of said block.

6. The machine of claim 5 wherein said troughing block has vertical walls above the V-shaped lower portion, extending up from the extremities of that portion and said rods diameter is smaller than the distance between said vertical walls of the troughing block, so that it engages the V-shaped lower portion.

7. The machine of claim 5 wherein said troughing block has vertical walls above the V-shaped lower portion, extending up from the extremities of that portion and said rods diameter equals the distance between said vertical walls and said rod has a second cross pin spaced from the first and supported by the block so that the rod is uniformly spaced above said vertex.

8. The machine of claim 1 wherein there is a stationary store of seeds and a rotating, generally horizontal seed dispenser having a series of pickup devices,

means for dipping each pickup device into said store to pick up said seeds individually from said store, and means for dipping each pickup device into said troughing block for dropping its seed on said strip at said seed depositing station.

9. The machine of claim 8 wherein said seed dispenser comprises a rotating disc having a plurality of radially extending arms held removably to its outer periphery, each arm having a pneumatically operated nozzle attached thereto, and pneumatic means for applying vacuum to the nozzle when the arm overlies the store of seeds, for holding the vacuum until the nozzle enters the troughing block, and then for bleeding the vacuum to atmospheric pressure at said nozzle to release the seed therefrom.

llfl. A seed-tape manufacturing machine, including in combination:

a main frame having means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, and a platform in between,

drive and closure means on said platform for propelling the strip and for closing it together with a seed inside to complete the seed tape,

a troughing block on said platform ahead of said drive and closure means and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex,

moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block for moistening the upper surface of said strip,

a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block near the end closer to said moistening means for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion,

a seed-depositing station between said shaping member and said drive and closure means,

a stationary store of seeds,

a rotating, generally horizontal seed dispenser having a rotating disc having a plurality of radially extending arms held removably to its outer periphery, each arm having a pneumatically operated nozzle attached thereto,

means for dipping each said nozzle into said store to pick up said seeds individually from said store,

means for dipping each said nozzle into said troughing block for dropping its seed on said strip at said seed depositing station, and

pneumatic means for applying vacuum to the nozzle when the arm overlies the store of seeds, for holding the vacuum until the nozzle enters the troughing block, and then for bleeding the vacuum to atmospheric pressure at said nozzle to release the seed therefrom,

each said arm having a dummy member like said arm and said pneumatic pressure means comprising a flexible conduit detachable from and attachable to said nozzle and, alternately, said dummy member.

1 l. A seed-tape manufacturing machine, including in combination:

a main frame having means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, and a platform in between,

drive and closure means on said platform for propelling the strip and for closing it together with a seed inside to complete the seed tape,

a troughing block on said platform ahead of said drive and closure means and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex,

moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block for moistening the upper surface of said strip,

a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block near the end closer to said moistening means for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion,

a seed-depositing station between said shaping member and said drive and closure means,

a stationary store of seeds,

a rotating, generally horizontal seed dispenser having a rotating disc having a plurality of radially extending arms held removably to its outer periphery, each arm having a pneumatically operated nozzle attached thereto,

means for dipping each said nozzle into said store to pick up said seeds individually from said store, and means for dipping each said nozzle into said troughing block for dropping its seed on said strip at said seed depositing station, and

pneumatic means for applying vacuum to the nozzle when the arm overlies the store of seeds, for holding the vacuum until the nozzle enters the troughing block, and then for bleeding the vacuum to atmospheric pressure at said nozzle to release the seed therefrom,

said means for dipping comprising a stationary cam,

and a cam follower on each said arm.

12. The machine of claim 11 wherein said arms are held to said disc by an elastic band that urges their cam followers against said cam.

13. A seed-tape manufacturing machine, including in combination:

a main frame having means for supporting an input reel of strip material atone end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, and a platform in between,

drive and closure means on said platform for propelling the strip and for closing it together with a seed inside to complete the seed tape,

a troughing block on said platform ahead of said drive and closure means and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex,

moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block for moistening the upper surface of said strip,

a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block near the end closer to said moistening means for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion,

a seed-depositing station between said shaping member and said drive and closure means, and

aligning means comprising a flanged spool mounted adjacent said input reel and a fine adjustment means mounted on said platform between said moistening means and said troughing block comprising an angularly disposed horizontal member engaging the full bottom surface of the strip and means for shifting the angle thereof and for securing it at any desired angular position.

14. A seed-tape manufacturing machine having a main frame with means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a takeup reel of seed tape at the other end, a platform in between, and a pair of wheels on said platform, one driven and one idling, and urged toward the driven wheel, for propelling the strip and closing it between them to complete the seed tape, including in combination:

a troughing block on said platform ahead of said wheels and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex,

moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block and near said block, having a wick for moistening the upper surface of said strip, and supporting a round wire shaping member supported in line with said groove above said platform and over the vertex of said block and contacting said moistened upper surface for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion,

a seed-depositing station along said block between said shaping member and said wheels, and

a strip control member mounted on said block beyond said seed-depositing station, for engaging the edges only of said strip and centering the strip relative to said vertex, the unmoistened lower surface of said strip lying against said block in said groove as said strip passes said strip control member.

15. A seed-tape manufacturing machine having a main frame with means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a takeup reel of seed tape at the other end, a platform in between, and a pair of wheels on said platform, one driven and one idling, and urged toward the driven wheel, for propelling the strip and closing it between them to complete the seed tape, including in combination:

a troughing block on said platform ahead of said wheels and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex,

moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block and near said block, having a wick for moistening the upper surface of said strip, and supporting a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion, said moistening means comprising a water receptacle resting on said platform having a vertical slot extending down to a desired level, a tubular vertical standard, a column slidable and rotatable in said standard and removable therefrom, a frame secured at one end of said column, a capillary wick held by said frame and having a portion which enters said open end portion to take water therefrom and a portion which rests on and dispenses moisture to the upper surface of said strip, a seed-depositing station along said block between said shaping member and said wheels, and a strip control member mounted on said block beyond said seed-depositing station, for engaging the edges of said strip and centering the strip relative to said vertex. v 16. The machine of claim having a horizontal sleeve secured to said column and to said frame, said wire shaping member having a longitudinal portion and a transverse portion, said transverse portion extending through said sleeve and secured to said column, to compact a torsion-spring action to the outer end of said longitudinal portion.

17. A seed-tape manufacturing machine having a main frame with means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a takeup reel of seed tape at the other end, a platform in between, and a pair of wheels on said platform, one driven and one idling, and urged toward the driven wheel, for propelling the strip and closing it between them to complete the seed tape, including in combination:

a troughing block on said platform ahead of said wheels and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex,

moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block and near said block, having a wick for moistening the upper surface of said strip, and supporting a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion,

a seed-depositing station along said block between said shaping member and said wheels, and

a strip control member mounted on said block beyond said seed-depositing station, for engaging the edges of said strip and centering the strip relative to said vertex,

said strip control member comprising a cylindrical rod having a through pin at one end and a notch in said troughing block for anchoring said rod against axial movement and for locating it longitudinally, said rod being a diameter which is smaller than the width of said V-shaped lower portion of the troughing block so that it engages said V-shaped lower portion.

18. A seed-tape manufacturing machine having a main frame with means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a takeup reel of seed tape at the other end, a platform in between, and a pair of wheels on said platform, one driven and one idling, and urged toward the driven wheel, for propelling the strip and closing it between them to complete the seed tape, including in combination:

a troughing block on said platform ahead of said wheels and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex,

vertical walls extending up from the extremities of said V-shaped lower portion,

moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block and near said block, having a wick for moistening the upper surface of said strip, and supporting a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion,

a seed-depositing station along said block between said shaping member and said wheels, and

a strip control member mounted on said block beyond said seed-depositing station, for engaging the edges of said strip and centering the strip relative to said vertex,

said strip control member comprising a rod having two spaced-apart through pins, a notch in said troughing block in which one said pin fits for anchoring said rod against axial movement, said rod having a width substantially the same as the distance between the vertical walls, and the second pin resting on said troughing block at a desired height and assuring that the rod rests at a uniform height above the vertex of said block.

19. The machine of claim 14 wherein said seed depositing station incorporates a rotating generally horizontal seed dispenser and a stationary store of seeds, said seed dispenser having a series of nozzles and means for dipping said nozzles into said store for picking up seeds individually from said store and means for dipping said nozzles into said troughing block for dropping the seeds on said strip at said seed depositing station.

20. The machine of claim 19 wherein said seed dispenser comprises a rotating disc having a plurality of individually removable radially extending arms each having said nozzle attached thereto and a cam follower thereon, a stationary cam ring above said disc having a cam-shaped periphery and serving as the means causing the dipping of the nozzles, and a springy yieldable band holding said arms to said disc and said cam followers against said cam.

21. A seed-tape manufacturing machine having a main frame with means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a takeup reel of seed tape at the other end, a platform in between, and a pair of wheels on said platform, one driven and one idling, and urged toward the driven wheel, for propelling the strip and closing it between them to complete the seed tape, including in combination:

a troughing block on said platform ahead of said wheels and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex,

moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block and near said block, having a wick for moistening the upper surface of said strip, and supporting a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion,

a seed-depositing station along said block between said shaping member and said wheels,

a strip control member mounted on said block beyond said seed-depositing station, for engaging the edges of said strip and centering the strip relative to said vertex, and

setting the angle at which said member extends relstrip and the other said wheel being an idler wheel mounted on a pivoted arm and spring urged toward the other wheel so that the strip passes between them for driving and is also closed together as flataligning means comprising a flanged spool mounted tened seed tape with the seed near a creased cenadjacent the input reel and a fine adjustment means te -fold d the edges sealed together by pressure mounted between said moistening means and said d moisture, troughing block comprising an horiZOmally main drive means for propelling said drive wheel, and Posed member engaging the bottom Surface of the transmission means including a slip belt connecting Strip at that Point and means for determining and 0 said main drive means to said means for rotatably driving said take-up reel through said slip belt for ative to the flow path of said strip.

22. A machine for making seed tape from a strip of water-soluble polymer, including in combination:

a main frame having a platform and side walls,

first and second arms secured to opposite said side walls and extending out therefrom, said first arm having means for rotatably supporting an input reel, said second arm having means for rotatably supporting a take-up reel,

a flanged guide roller rotatably supported by said first arm for aligning the strip fed from said input reel relatively to subsequent members,

moistening means mounted on said platform in alignment with said roller for moistening an upper surface only of said strip,

a troughing block mounted on said platform in alignment with said roller and said moistening means and comprising a bar having an upper surface provided with a troughing groove V-shaped at its bottom and extending up beyond the outer ends of the V, the vertex of the V being in alignment with the center line of said roller and moistening means, said block having an entrance end, an exit end, and a seed-dispensing station between its ends where seed is dropped onto the moistened tape while the tape is troughed like the walls of said groove,

a wire shaping member supported above and aligned with the V-shaped groove near said entrance end for engagement with the upper moistened surface of said strip and forcing the central portion threeof down into the vertex of the V,

a control member mounted on said troughing means after the seed-dispensing station and engaging the upper edges of the troughed strip to assure that they are equally aligned with respect to their center line,

drive and closure means on said platform between said exit end and said second arm, comprising two horizontally mounted wheels having resilient pecausing the peripheral speed of the tape to be at all times faster than said drive wheels peripheral speed, said slip belt enabling the pull of the tape to slow down said take-up reel so that the peripheral speed of the tape is actually substantially equal to that at the drive wheel.

23. The machine of claim 22 having means enabling swinging each of said first and second arms flat against said side walls when not in use.

24. The machine of claim 22 having a fineadjustment means mounted on said platform in between said moistening means and said entrance end and having a horizontal rod extending at an angle relative to said strip and engaging the full width of the lower unmoistened surface of said strip and means for adjusting the angle, to effect the training of said strip in said troughing means.

25. The machine of claim 22 wherein said moistening means comprises a water receptacle resting on said platform having a vertical slot, a tubular vertical standard extending up from said platform and having an open slot providing a first shoulder and a second shoul- 35 der thereabove, a column slidable and rotatable in said standard and removable therefrom, a horizontal member secured to said column and resting on each said shoulder, on the first shoulder for operation and on the second shoulder for pauses during operation, a stepped capillary wick held by said horizontal member, said step providing a lower portion which enters said slot to take water from said receptacle, and an upper portion which rests on and dispenses moisture to the upper surface of said strip when said horizontal member rests on 45 said first shoulder.

26. The machine of claim 25 wherein said horizontal member comprises a sleeve and said wire shaping member has a longitudinal portion aligned with said groove and a transverse portion extending through said sleeve and secured to said column, thereby providing a torsion ripheries and rotatable about vertical axes, one said suspension for the outboard end of said longitudinal wheel being a drive wheel mounted on a fixed axis portion. and driven to supply the force for propelling the 

1. A seed-tape manufacturing machine, including in combination: a main frame having means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, and a platform in between, drive and closure means on said platform for propelling the strip and for closing it together with a seed inside to complete the seed tape, a troughing block on said platform ahead of said drive and closure means and having a longitudinal groove that has a Vshaped lower portion with a central vertex, moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block for moistening the upper surface of said strip, a round wire shaping member supported in line with said groove above said platform and over the vertex of said block near the end closer to said moistening means and contacting said moistened upper surface for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion, and a seed-depositing station between said shaping member and said drive and closure means.
 2. The machine of claim 1 having a strip control member mounted on said block beyond said seed-depositing station, for engaging the edges only of said strip and centering the strip relative to said vertex, the unmoistened lower surface of said strip lying against said block in said groove as said strip passes said strip central member.
 3. A seed-tape manufacturing machine, including in combination: a main frame having means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, and a platform in between, drive and closure means on said platform for propelling the strip and for closing it together with a seed inside to complete the seed tape, a troughing block on said platform ahead of said drive and closure means and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex, moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block for moistening the upper surface of said strip, a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block near the end closer to said moistening means for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion, and a seed-depositing station between said shaping member and said drive and closure means, said moistening means comprising a water receptacle resting on said platform, a tubular standard extending up from said platform, a column slidable and rotatable in said standard and removable therefrom, a frame secured to said column and extending horizontally therefrom, and a capillary wick held by said frame and having a portion overlying the water in said receptacle to take water therefrom and a portion which rests on and dispenses moisture to the upper surface of said strip.
 4. The machine of claim 3 wherein said wire shaping member has a longitudinally extending portion in line with said vertex, with an outboard end portion for contact with said tape and at the other end leading at a right angle to a horizontal portion whose end is secured to said column, and a sleeve secured to said column and to said frame in which said horizontal portion can rotate to give a torsion-spring-like yielding action.
 5. The machine of claim 2 wherein said strip control member comprises a rod having a cross pin at one end and a notch in the upper portion of said troughing block for anchoring said rod against axial movement and for locating it longitudinally, said rod having a diameter which just bridges it across a portion of said block.
 6. The machine of claim 5 wherein said troughing block has vertical walls above the V-shaped lower portion, extending up from the extremities of that portion and said rod''s diameter is smaller than the distance between said vertical walls of the troughing block, so that it engages the V-shaped lower portion.
 7. The machine of claim 5 wherein said troughing block has vertical walls above the V-shaped lower portion, extending up from the extremities of that portion and said rod''s diameter equals the distance between said vertical walls and said rod has a second cross pin spaced from the first and supported by the block so that the rod is uniformly spaced above said vertex.
 8. The machine of claim 1 wherein there is a stationary store of seeds and a rotating, generally horizontal seed dispenser having a series of pickup devices, means for dipping each pickup device into said store to pick up said seeds individually from said store, and means for dipping each pickup device into said troughing block for dropping its seed on said strip at said seed depositing station.
 9. The machine of claim 8 wherein said seed dispenser comprises a rotating disc having a plurality of radially extending arms held removably to its outer periphery, each arm having a pneumatically operated nozzle attached thereto, and pneumatic means for applying vacuum to the nozzle when the arm overlies the store of seeds, for holding the vacuum until the nozzle enters the troughing block, and then for bleeding the vacuum to atmospheric pressure at said nozzle to release the seed therefrom.
 10. A seed-tape manufacturing machine, including in combination: a main frame having means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, and a platform in between, drive and closure means on said platform for propelling the strip and for closing it together with a seed inside to complete the seed tape, a troughing block on said platform ahead of said drive and closure means and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex, moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block for moistening the upper surface of said strip, a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block near the end closer to said moistening means for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion, a seed-depositing station between said shaping member and said drive and closure means, a stationary store of seeds, a rotating, generally horizontal seed dispenser having a rotating disc having a plurality of radially extending arms held removably to its outer periphery, each arm having a pneumatically operated nozzle attached thereto, means for dipping each said nozzle into said store to pick up said seeds individually from said store, means for dipping each said nozzle into said troughing block for dropping its seed on said strip at said seed depositing station, and pneumatic means for applying vacuum to the nozzle when the arm overlies the store of seeds, for holding the vacuum until the nozzle enters the troughing block, and then for bleeding the vacuum to atmospheric pressure at said nozzle to release the seed therefrom, each said arm having a dummy member like said arm and said pneumatic pressure means comprising a flexible conduit detachable from and attachable to said nozzle and, alternately, said dummy member.
 11. A seed-tape manufacturing machine, including in combination: a main frame having means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, and a platform in between, drive and closure means on said platform for propelling the strip and for closing it together with a seed inside to complete the seed tape, a troughing block on said platform ahead of said drive and closure means and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex, moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block for moistening the upper surface of said strip, a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block near the end closer to said moistening means for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion, a seed-depositing station between said shaping member and said drive and closure means, a stationary store of seeds, a rotating, generally horizontal seed dispenser having a rotating disc having a plurality of radially extending arms held removably to its outer periphery, each arm having a pneumatically operated nozzle attached thereto, means for dipping each said nozzle into said store to pick up said seeds individually from said store, and means for dipping each said nozzle into said troughing block for dropping its seed on said strip at said seed depositing station, and pneumatic means for applying vacuum to the nozzle when the arm overlies the store of seeds, for holding the vacuum until the nozzle enters the troughing block, and then for bleeding the vacuum to atmospheric pressure at said nozzle to release the seed therefrom, said means for dipping comprising a stationary cam, and a cam follower on each said arm.
 12. The machine of claim 11 wherein said arms are held to said disc by an elastic band that urges their cam followers against said cam.
 13. A seed-tape manufacturing machine, including in combination: a main frame having means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, and a platform in between, drive and closure means on said platform for propelling the strip and for closing it together with a seed inside to complete the seed tape, a troughing block on said platform ahead of said drive and closure means and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex, moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said blOck for moistening the upper surface of said strip, a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block near the end closer to said moistening means for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion, a seed-depositing station between said shaping member and said drive and closure means, and aligning means comprising a flanged spool mounted adjacent said input reel and a fine adjustment means mounted on said platform between said moistening means and said troughing block comprising an angularly disposed horizontal member engaging the full bottom surface of the strip and means for shifting the angle thereof and for securing it at any desired angular position.
 14. A seed-tape manufacturing machine having a main frame with means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, a platform in between, and a pair of wheels on said platform, one driven and one idling, and urged toward the driven wheel, for propelling the strip and closing it between them to complete the seed tape, including in combination: a troughing block on said platform ahead of said wheels and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex, moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block and near said block, having a wick for moistening the upper surface of said strip, and supporting a round wire shaping member supported in line with said groove above said platform and over the vertex of said block and contacting said moistened upper surface for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion, a seed-depositing station along said block between said shaping member and said wheels, and a strip control member mounted on said block beyond said seed-depositing station, for engaging the edges only of said strip and centering the strip relative to said vertex, the unmoistened lower surface of said strip lying against said block in said groove as said strip passes said strip control member.
 15. A seed-tape manufacturing machine having a main frame with means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, a platform in between, and a pair of wheels on said platform, one driven and one idling, and urged toward the driven wheel, for propelling the strip and closing it between them to complete the seed tape, including in combination: a troughing block on said platform ahead of said wheels and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex, moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block and near said block, having a wick for moistening the upper surface of said strip, and supporting a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion, said moistening means comprising a water receptacle resting on said platform having a vertical slot extending down to a desired level, a tubular vertical standard, a column slidable and rotatable in said standard and removable therefrom, a frame secured at one end of said column, a capillary wick held by said frame and having a portion which enters said open end portion to take water therefrom and a portion which rests on and dispenses moisture to the upper surface of said strip, a seed-depositing station along said block between said shaping member and said wheels, and a strip control member mounted on said block beyond said seed-depositing station, for engaging the edges of said strip and centering the strip relative to said vertex.
 16. The machine of claim 15 having a horizontal sleeve secured to said column and to said frame, said wire shaping member having a longitudinal portion and a transverse portion, said transverse portion extending through said sleeve and secured to said Column, to compact a torsion-spring action to the outer end of said longitudinal portion.
 17. A seed-tape manufacturing machine having a main frame with means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, a platform in between, and a pair of wheels on said platform, one driven and one idling, and urged toward the driven wheel, for propelling the strip and closing it between them to complete the seed tape, including in combination: a troughing block on said platform ahead of said wheels and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex, moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block and near said block, having a wick for moistening the upper surface of said strip, and supporting a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion, a seed-depositing station along said block between said shaping member and said wheels, and a strip control member mounted on said block beyond said seed-depositing station, for engaging the edges of said strip and centering the strip relative to said vertex, said strip control member comprising a cylindrical rod having a through pin at one end and a notch in said troughing block for anchoring said rod against axial movement and for locating it longitudinally, said rod being a diameter which is smaller than the width of said V-shaped lower portion of the troughing block so that it engages said V-shaped lower portion.
 18. A seed-tape manufacturing machine having a main frame with means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, a platform in between, and a pair of wheels on said platform, one driven and one idling, and urged toward the driven wheel, for propelling the strip and closing it between them to complete the seed tape, including in combination: a troughing block on said platform ahead of said wheels and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex, vertical walls extending up from the extremities of said V-shaped lower portion, moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block and near said block, having a wick for moistening the upper surface of said strip, and supporting a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion, a seed-depositing station along said block between said shaping member and said wheels, and a strip control member mounted on said block beyond said seed-depositing station, for engaging the edges of said strip and centering the strip relative to said vertex, said strip control member comprising a rod having two spaced-apart through pins, a notch in said troughing block in which one said pin fits for anchoring said rod against axial movement, said rod having a width substantially the same as the distance between the vertical walls, and the second pin resting on said troughing block at a desired height and assuring that the rod rests at a uniform height above the vertex of said block.
 19. The machine of claim 14 wherein said seed depositing station incorporates a rotating generally horizontal seed dispenser and a stationary store of seeds, said seed dispenser having a series of nozzles and means for dipping said nozzles into said store for picking up seeds individually from said store and means for dipping said nozzles into said troughing block for dropping the seeds on said strip at said seed depositing station.
 20. The machine of claim 19 wherein said seed dispenser comprises a rotating disc having a plurality of individually removable radially extending arms each having said nozzle attached thereto and a cam follower thereon, a stationary cam ring above said disc havIng a cam-shaped periphery and serving as the means causing the dipping of the nozzles, and a springy yieldable band holding said arms to said disc and said cam followers against said cam.
 21. A seed-tape manufacturing machine having a main frame with means for supporting an input reel of strip material at one end, means for supporting a take-up reel of seed tape at the other end, a platform in between, and a pair of wheels on said platform, one driven and one idling, and urged toward the driven wheel, for propelling the strip and closing it between them to complete the seed tape, including in combination: a troughing block on said platform ahead of said wheels and having a longitudinal groove that has a V-shaped lower portion with a central vertex, moistening means on said platform between said input reel and said block and near said block, having a wick for moistening the upper surface of said strip, and supporting a wire shaping member supported above said platform and over the vertex of said block for forcing the moistened strip into said V-shaped lower portion, a seed-depositing station along said block between said shaping member and said wheels, a strip control member mounted on said block beyond said seed-depositing station, for engaging the edges of said strip and centering the strip relative to said vertex, and aligning means comprising a flanged spool mounted adjacent the input reel and a fine adjustment means mounted between said moistening means and said troughing block comprising an horizontally disposed member engaging the bottom surface of the strip at that point and means for determining and setting the angle at which said member extends relative to the flow path of said strip.
 22. A machine for making seed tape from a strip of water-soluble polymer, including in combination: a main frame having a platform and side walls, first and second arms secured to opposite said side walls and extending out therefrom, said first arm having means for rotatably supporting an input reel, said second arm having means for rotatably supporting a take-up reel, a flanged guide roller rotatably supported by said first arm for aligning the strip fed from said input reel relatively to subsequent members, moistening means mounted on said platform in alignment with said roller for moistening an upper surface only of said strip, a troughing block mounted on said platform in alignment with said roller and said moistening means and comprising a bar having an upper surface provided with a troughing groove V-shaped at its bottom and extending up beyond the outer ends of the V, the vertex of the V being in alignment with the center line of said roller and moistening means, said block having an entrance end, an exit end, and a seed-dispensing station between its ends where seed is dropped onto the moistened tape while the tape is troughed like the walls of said groove, a wire shaping member supported above and aligned with the V-shaped groove near said entrance end for engagement with the upper moistened surface of said strip and forcing the central portion threeof down into the vertex of the V, a control member mounted on said troughing means after the seed-dispensing station and engaging the upper edges of the troughed strip to assure that they are equally aligned with respect to their center line, drive and closure means on said platform between said exit end and said second arm, comprising two horizontally mounted wheels having resilient peripheries and rotatable about vertical axes, one said wheel being a drive wheel mounted on a fixed axis and driven to supply the force for propelling the strip and the other said wheel being an idler wheel mounted on a pivoted arm and spring urged toward the other wheel so that the strip passes between them for driving and is also closed together as flattened seed tape with the seed near a creased centerfold and the edges sealed together by pressure and moisture, main drive means for propelling said drive wheel, and transmission means including a slip belt connecting said main drive means to said means for rotatably driving said take-up reel through said slip belt for causing the peripheral speed of the tape to be at all times faster than said drive wheel''s peripheral speed, said slip belt enabling the pull of the tape to slow down said take-up reel so that the peripheral speed of the tape is actually substantially equal to that at the drive wheel.
 23. The machine of claim 22 having means enabling swinging each of said first and second arms flat against said side walls when not in use.
 24. The machine of claim 22 having a fine-adjustment means mounted on said platform in between said moistening means and said entrance end and having a horizontal rod extending at an angle relative to said strip and engaging the full width of the lower unmoistened surface of said strip and means for adjusting the angle, to effect the training of said strip in said troughing means.
 25. The machine of claim 22 wherein said moistening means comprises a water receptacle resting on said platform having a vertical slot, a tubular vertical standard extending up from said platform and having an open slot providing a first shoulder and a second shoulder thereabove, a column slidable and rotatable in said standard and removable therefrom, a horizontal member secured to said column and resting on each said shoulder, on the first shoulder for operation and on the second shoulder for pauses during operation, a stepped capillary wick held by said horizontal member, said step providing a lower portion which enters said slot to take water from said receptacle, and an upper portion which rests on and dispenses moisture to the upper surface of said strip when said horizontal member rests on said first shoulder.
 26. The machine of claim 25 wherein said horizontal member comprises a sleeve and said wire shaping member has a longitudinal portion aligned with said groove and a transverse portion extending through said sleeve and secured to said column, thereby providing a torsion suspension for the outboard end of said longitudinal portion. 